In The Garden of Cycling Shoppers Delight

By Luxo-D

So many choices, so many brands...what do I do? Help me Oujia-Wan, you're my only hope.

It seems like, but isn't, but it seems like, everywhere I look, people are talking about or thinking about buying a bicycle. Oh sure, there is no shortage of chatter about the subject. The constant droning on about this bike, and that frame, or that drive-train, and so on and so on. It is almost like there is a kind of sickness out there that makes people blather on about what they want to get. And believe me, talk is most definitely CHEAP.

A rational person would never allow this kind of velo-consumption to go beyond the idle browsing. No. For them it's on to the next thing, lawnmowers, vacuums, TV's. But we're not talking about "rational" people are we...no we are not. We're talking about a person with a kind cycling perversion that goes outside of common day shopping norms. Indeed, a trained psychiatrist would deem these types of cycling shoppers, borderline "Institutional." However, there is more than meets the eye...

There are basically two kinds of cycling shoppers in ME uneducated opinion. The first one, is the dude that shows up at every cycling in shop in town, looking at this that and the other thing, only to be confronted by a hopeful shop clerk desperate to make a sale, only to be brushed off with these depressing words..."Thanks, I'm just browsing." The second shopper, is the notorious "Online" guy, searching and searching in endless agony to seek out a deal no matter where. Whether it's ebay, Craig's List, or any number of online cycling discount sites - retail price shall never be paid, EVER! Fortunately, yours truly here, has found the happy balance between them all...

Catalogs.

Yes catalogs! I love them! They are everything a shopper could want in an experience. Beautiful, glossy, large, well photographed pictures of beautiful cycling machines, displayed in perfect settings, and posed in the most enticing angles to maximize the shopping experience. With brief descriptions of all the different models, accented with juicy tid-bits of personality for all sorts of different types of riding needs. As well as, elaborate and detailed specifications, of component options, to contrast and compare...eh hem. Excuse me, I seemed to be getting a little flush writing about this...

So, in conclusion...a well informed bicycle shopper is a happy bicycle shopper. No matter where you buy. Good luck.

The Gary Fisher-Freewheel Bike Freedom Ride!

By Luxo-D

As a full-blooded American dude, nothing gets me more excited than a little old fashioned colonial time revolutionary celebratory action. Between fire-works, the Forth of July, and folks decked out in Revolutionary era costumes, just to ride bikes, is enough to make you start humming the Star Spangled Banner. So when I heard about this event...well let's just say, Yankee Doodle was another hot tune of the day...

Hear ye, hear ye, let FREEDOM ring out! The RIGHT to ride is on! The Gary Fisher-Freewheel Bike Freedom ride has ridden!

And so it was this last weekend at the Freewheel Bike Cycling Freedom Ride. A cycling retailer extravaganza of enthusiasm and camaraderie for over two hundred participants! A 90 minute ride starting from the original West Bank Store on the University of Minnesota campus, to the extremely handy Mid-Town Shop on the Mid-Town Greenway, out to the brand NEW Eden Prairie Store to sign the Freedom Ride Cyclists’ Bill of Rights – a document extolling the virtues and rights about cycling anywhere, any place, anytime. Not to mention the chance to ride with the very important VIP and special guest himself – the man responsible for starting mountain biking as we know it...Gary Fisher (Founder of Gary Fisher bicycles.)

It was a jolly and sprite time too, with perfect riding weather to boot. Yay, for yours truly, I felt honored to be riding with this wholesome bunch of enthusiastic cyclists for sure. Indeed, the chance to ride with Gary Fisher, was an opportunity not worth missing! I even spoke to the man too! Our conversation went like this... I said, "Hi Gary." He said, "Hi." I said, "I like your glasses." He said, "Thanks." I said, "How long are you here?" He said, "Just today." I said, "Ah." Furthermore, what could be more fun and spirited, than the event hosts and coordinators from Freewheel Bike and the very creative, hot Minneapolis advertising agency known as Pocket Hercules – all riding in FULL American Revolutionary Continental costumes! A challenge I might add to ride on bike.

Finally, at the end of the ride, the crowd was treated to a smorgasbord of tasty treats, bratworst, hotdogs, and refreshments, as well as receiving a complimentary 20% Off on all merchandise for anyone that rode and signed the Cycling Bill of Rights. This Kid...exercised his LIBERTY with a set of new Vittoria tires.

This was definitely the Stroker Ace in FREEDOM. No doubt!

The unkind atmosphere of April

By Luxo-D

Who said that famous quote..."April is for Lovers?" Or was it..."Georgia?" I don't know, there is some quote that defines April. Generally, a lot of us have been looking forward to bicycling season all winter long. Like you, the thought of getting out there and enjoying some really awesome Spring weather has been a nugget of anticipation for quite some time. Just the thought of perfect Spring temperatures mixed with the first long light of sun, is enough to get a dude pretty stoked up. Unless...

April – The Siren of Despair...
Yeah, a guy could just sit there and blubber in his beer and cry like a big fat baby about how bad the weather has been. You know, whine about how it's raining, or it's too cold, or too windy, or whatever. I too (Brute), thought the long melancholy of winter was over – only to be subverted by this siren of annoying bad weather. But look, I think...and I don't much...think there is an opportunity at play here to harvest the dream. That is, IF your water bottle is not half empty? Indeed, why not take this moment to test new gear, new routes, and new abilities in personal endurance? In a way, embrace the adversity of poor conditions, and reap the benefits gained by Velo SURVIVAL of the Fittest!

Make it SO number one...
Hey folks, there's lots of stuff a committed cyclist can do when the weather sucks whazoo. Like... adjust your saddle for instance, or tweak your shoe cleats, or visit a favorite bike shop, or go to a bike expo, or look at bike gear online until your wife says "Get the hell off the computer!"... You know, stuff like that. I'm just saying, you don't have to squander the moment because it's not perfect out. Being a wussy is a state of mind, not an act of treason...

So, double up those shorts, put on the windbreaker, or slip into some knickers! Live the adventure and ride for your life! After all, it's only...

"The Suite Life of Zak and Coty!"